Scottsdale Trio of Exceptional Graduates

We’re highlighting three exceptional seniors from Scottsdale Preparatory Academy. While the senior class at Scottsdale Prep is filled with extraordinary scholars, the College Counseling staff have narrowed it down the following three seniors who have worked hard, made impressive achievements, and have been accepted to exceptional schools.

Connor Swenson recently received the Bryan Cameron Impact Scholarship. The scholarship is an undergraduate scholarship awarded annually to 10-15 exceptional high school students who have demonstrated excellence in leadership, community service, extracurricular activities, and academics.

The Cameron Impact Scholar is unique among their peers in their desire to directly impact their communities and in the world at large. Recipients aspire to contribute to positive forces for change and plan to tailor their education to that end. The Cameron Impact Scholarship covers the full tuition, fees, and books at any accredited U.S. based college or university that the recipient chooses to attend. Connor will be attending Brown University in the fall.

Connor’s mom, Diana Swenson, appreciated all the support that the College Counselors provided. “Thank you for forwarding that scholarship information last year. We are grateful for all the college information that you take the time to send out and the help you provide,” she said.

Connor is also National Merit Commended and a Scottsdale Prep Mentor.

Raywon Kim is National Merit Finalist and has been accepted into the University of Pennsylvania. He is a distinguished Honors student with outstanding extracurricular involvement, a dedication to sports and the arts, and an unwavering commitment to serving others.

“As his high school College Counselor, I have had the privilege of knowing Raywon for the past two years,” said Shannon Coolidge. “I became better acquainted with him when he asked me to write a letter of recommendation as part of his application to [the] Governor’s Youth Commission last summer. As I learned more about his work with the Mayor’s Council working to support homelessness, food scarcity, and mental health issues in teens, I realized how remarkable a young man he truly is.”

Coolidge continued, “With a near perfect GPA, it is easy to recognize that Raywon is both intelligent and a hard worker. A review of his progress reports over the past three years reveal that Raywon’s teachers have nothing but the highest praise for his academic performance. At Scottsdale Prep, the students take an all-honors curriculum based on the Great Books of western civilization. A highly rigorous curriculum, Raywon has consistently risen to the top of his class in every subject throughout high school.”

Raywon’s Humane Letters teacher describes Raywon as, “A pillar of our search for understanding every day, as he not only asks interesting questions, but has the courage to present alternatives to the dominant class narrative.”

Esther Cho was accepted at both Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania. Esther has taken advantage of opportunities to independently take AP exams while keeping up with her classes at Scottsdale Prep and completing four college level courses through the Maricopa Community Colleges and the University of Delaware.

“I can still remember my first meeting with Esther Cho, two years ago when she was planning to transfer to our public, liberal arts Great Books charter school. I was blown away by Esther’s composure to discuss her future plans, endeavors, and motivation with an adult that she had just met,” recalls her College Counselor, Roslyn Fletcher. “That was the floor of the wow factor, as Esther continues to impress and amaze me with each interaction, I have with her over the past two years as I have humbly served as her college counselor.”

In May of 2020, Esther co-founded a graphic art company, Milkey and Co. Studios, which creates and sells hand-crafted cards and uniquely designed stickers. The products that Esther has designed are currently on display at over 20 retailers around the United States.

Esther served as the Girls State Representative for Scottsdale Prep last summer and was elected by her peers to attend Girls Nation. She will assist the College Counseling office in selecting two students from the class of 2024 to represent the school at Girls State in June of 2023.

Congratulations to all three seniors for this high honor. We look forward to seeing great things in the future from these graduates of the class of 2023! Do you have a story or know of a story that you would like to see featured at Great Hearts?  Please contact jason.moore@greathearts.org.